Omaha daily bee., 1887-06-02
SOLOMON'S NEW FRIEND.
A Colorado Miner Confdencsd Out Of
$500 On Bond" y
"wAlT HERE TILL I COME BACK
Strychnine Narrowly Misses in It's
Deadly Work--Thc Republican
Caucuses.-Isailroa Rumblcs
and Personals.
Not a Wise Solomon.

Solomon Blanks, miner and drill
operator Of st. Elmo, Chaffee county,
Colorado, arrived in Omaha on Tuesday
evening over the b. e. Nj. route from
Denver. He was accompanied from Lin
coin by verv pleasant gentleman of
winning address who discovered, through
hearing Blanks talk with the conductor,
that the latter intended to proceed from
Omaha to St. Paul, Minnesota. He i'm
mediately sought an acquaintance with
Blanks and informed him that he was a
grocery merchant in ST. Paul and had
come to Omaha 20 purchase a quantity of
goods from Paxton IL Gallagher's whole
sale house. When the unknown indi.
vdual discovered that Blanks swallowed
this improbable story he had no hesita.
ton about proceeding with his bold
game.
AS soon as they stepped from the depot
here Blanks new acquaintance pre-
tended to be in great mental distress be
cause the hour was so late and he couldn't
get into the bank, where he had expected
to be able to get 81, 900 on a government
turned to Blanks with the
inquiry; Have you got any
money you could loan me until morning!
/ will give you this bond rs security. l
only need $400 or $500 to pay down for
my goods, and then can remit the rest
from St. Paul
Blanks had $500 tucked away in capa-
ciOus pocketbook inside his vest-S500
that it had taken him two years to save,
and with which he expected 70 pay for
some land near St. Paul. The new ac-
qualntance appeared to him to be II
nice man, and the 81, 900 government bond
looked pretty to his rather unSchooled
eye. He had walked with the man
nearly to Paxton Il Gallagher's store,
and there the latter grew importunate.
So he iished out the wallet, counted out
the $500, and took the alleged bond.
The new acquaintance, the instant he
received the money, ran up the steps OF
the building, up a stairway, and disap.
peared. He turned as he went out of
sight and told Blanks TO wait there until
he returned Blanks did wait three-quar.
ters of an hour. Then he scanned
the bond" undertook. to find where
his friend had gone and sought police
man, who happened to be Officer Bloom.
They searched together for the man, but
found no trace of him. He had evidently
gone upstairs one way and gone down
another.
The bond" which Blanks received is
an elaborately printed piece ofpaper. 1t
appears at first glance to be a
counterfeit of government bond;
but scrutiny showed that underneath
the "$1 600" is printed in fine type the
words, "Silver Mining company of Den
yer City, Colorado" causing the paper
to read '"The United States Silver Min
ing company of Denver City, Colorado,
promise to pay 81, ,00O." etc.
Blanks has left his case in the hands of
the police, and has returned to Colorado
| to 90 at work again.
ANOTHER GAME ON THE SAME TRAIN.
On the same train which brought
Blanks and his confidence man to Omaha
| was another rascal who succeeded in
palming himself off on James Wilson,
of Crete, Neb., as Grand Army man.
He wore the badge and talked war re-
mniscences into Wilson's ear until he
had succeeded in talking $15 out of his
pocket In view OF Blanks experience,
however, Wilson Is lucky.